I have to give the Chiefs credit for taking the time to sit down with the QB2 they hope to have for the 2016 season.
It was their first time doing that and, after a week-long interview with me, the Chiefs gave me a pretty clear vision for how they think this franchise will look in a few years.
“The biggest thing is that we need a quarterback,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
“And we can’t do that if we don’t have a guy.”
It’s a clear-cut, straightforward vision for a franchise that has struggled to win games for a decade.
Reid said that, when the Chiefs drafted Derek Carr in the second round last season, the team knew that the quarterback position was one of the biggest holes in their offense and that they would likely use some combination of Andrew Luck and Matt Flynn.
Reid didn’t go into detail on how that might work out, but he was quick to point out that the team is looking to get rid of the franchise tag on the quarterback.
That move would mean that the Chiefs would be able to re-sign Carr, or trade him for another quarterback, for the right price.
This is not to say that the future of the team’s franchise tag is secure.
Reid has repeatedly indicated that he is open to reopening negotiations on a contract extension with Carr, even if the quarterback does not sign a new contract until after the 2020 season.
If the Chiefs can’t get the quarterback they want in the next few years, they are likely to move on from Carr and move on to another quarterback.
And that could put them back in a position where they will have to rely on a franchise tag to keep their quarterback around.
“That’s a huge, huge hole for us,” Reid said of the quarterback situation.
“So it’s important that we look at all avenues and make sure we find a quarterback that we can be comfortable with.
And then we’re going to work hard to get it done.”
This isn’t the first time Reid has said that the franchise tags are not something the Chiefs will be in a hurry to move.
In the offseason, Reid said at his Pro Bowl press conference that he expected to move quickly on a deal for Carr.
He also said that he was hopeful that Flynn could be signed to a long-term deal this offseason.
But Reid did not give any specifics on how the Chiefs might deal with the franchise-tag situation and Flynn, who is the only other quarterback on the roster, said in his first Pro Bowl interview that he did not expect to be able in the future to play with the team.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen in my lifetime,” Flynn said.
But as the Chiefs look to get back to the playoffs for the first or second time in a decade, they might not be in the best position to find a new quarterback.
As Reid mentioned in his opening comments, the quarterback positions are going to be a critical one for the team for the next five to 10 years.
The Chiefs have struggled to find an answer for the position, but they have also found a solution.
They have a quarterback in Matt Cassel who is a veteran, talented and capable quarterback, and they have a second quarterback in Drew Stanton, who was acquired in a trade with the Raiders last year.
They also have a third quarterback, Derek Carr, who has been on the receiving end of criticism from some Chiefs fans for his decision to walk away from the game at age 27 after one year of pro football.
Reid, who spent two years with the Seahawks, was the offensive coordinator in Seattle for three seasons before being hired in Kansas City.
Reid was the quarterback coach for the Seahawks during the 2014 season and has coached in the NFL for 15 years.
Carr was drafted by the Seahawks in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, and he has led them to consecutive NFC Championship games, including two Super Bowl appearances.
“This organization is about winning championships and being in the conversation every year,” Reid told me.
“It’s about the guys that are out there, the guys who are not in this building, those that are working hard.
And we have a group of guys who want to win championships, and we want to make that happen, and this is what we’re trying to do.”
It sounds like the Chiefs have a solid quarterback in Carr, and the team wants to make sure that they get one next year.
But that may not be enough.
The team needs to find one of their two franchise tag quarterbacks in the draft.
This could happen at any point in the offseason or, for that matter, any time in the near future.
But for now, it seems like Reid and the Chiefs are going with a plan in which they will keep looking at all options for a quarterback.
If they can’t find a franchise quarterback, they will likely move on.
“We want to be aggressive,” Reid continued.